Asklemmy

Morrowind. I'd played it when it came out but didn't get very far. Tried it again after watching an 8 hour video about it. Focused on speed in my build so I didn't feel like running at a snail's pace. Finding the dead people that failed to become Nerevar, giving some guy a book of poetry without a quest telling me to, getting used to the layout of Vivec, actually enjoying the fast travel system, and lots more all added up to such a great experience.

Dragon Age

I started with Dragon Age inquisition and I dropped it within the first half an hour. Years later, I started with DAO and now it’s my favourite serie; I replay dao way too much btw

Portal 2. I just couldn't get into it at first but for some reason after not touching it for a year or so I went bad and played the ever living shit out of it. I know we won't ever get a third especially not for console but I'd love to see it happen

I got Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii when it first came out and just couldn't get it. I mean, I understood what I was supposed to be doing, but I could barely pass any of the songs. I figured I just didn't have any rhythm and put it on the shelf.

Fast-forward to 2020 when I was rearranging some stuff and came across Rhythm Heaven Fever again. I hooked my Wii back up for shits and giggles and started playing and was doing great. Either I had magically gained a sense of rhythm or (most likely) the TV I had been playing on when I first got the game had some sort of latency issue.

Now I've gone through all the Rhythm Heaven games, but Fever is still my hands-down favorite. I put a copy on my Steam Deck and sometimes I just load it up and play through some songs when I have a few minutes to kill.

Witcher 3, is was so bored for the first 30 mins I turned it off. Came back a year later, now got around 300 hours in the game.

Hollow Knight for me fits this scenario to a t. I got it as part of a humble bundle, but couldn't get into it for at least a year as the initial part felt really depressing, and didn't at all grab me.

But once I managed to tough it through to greenpath, and started to get some power ups, it finally sunk it's claws into me. I proceeded to nearly 100% the game.

Hollow Knight.

The first few hours on felt dull. Lots of reviews were praising it and I just didn't get why. Dirtmouth and the Forgotten Crossroads weren't really exhilarating, so I stopped after ~5h.

A couple months later I created a new game slot. My POV shifted by following Cornifer's passion for exploring for exploring's sake, instead of grinding the Geo economy. The soundtrack really enhances the experience and environment of each section. I'm now ~120h in and still unsure if I'm halfway there!

Eve online.

Cyberpunk. Hated all the stuff with Johnny in the beginning. Came back later and actually played through the entire game.

Happened twice, both to my #1 games. Tried Chrono Trigger as a kid and didn't like it, then came back and played it as a young adult and was like... damn... this is an actual treasure.

In 2015 I tried FFXI due to the XIV crossover event, and I could not get past the eccentric and clunky UI and the pacing of the combat. I tried again a couple of years later and committed to finishing all the stories. It became my new #1 and I think genuinely one of the best games ever made, in terms of revealing and pushing the artistic potential of online games, and games in general. Actual masterpiece and a massive innovation, and unlike Chrono Trigger I think the lessons are going to be a lot harder to learn and replicate.

My Summer Car

Sekiro. Tried getting into it twice, but couldn't - I always got mentally stuck at Lady Butterfly.

Third time, someone told me that I shouldn't fight her until later, and HOT DAMN is this a good game. I'm still working on the final fight of the normal route, but can't wait to go back and do the other endings!

Red​ dead redemption 2

Horizon Zero Dawn

Skyrim, thought it was boring at first but started again after a friend got it 1 month after me, im currently on what feels like my hundreth playthrough and it still is my all time favorit

fallout 3. first time i ever played a game like it. stopped playing because the subways scared me and i was out of ammo

League of legends.

Absolutely despised it, thought it was just pointless since progress doesn't really carry over from match to match, so what's the point?

Eventually gave it a go back in 2011 and never got rid of it. Took me a while to get into it too, I'd only play because of my brother and with friends on teamspeak but eventually got reeeeally into it.

These days I don't have time, or at least don't want to invest it, for rankeds or even SR (5x5) so I mostly play ARAMs and some of the riot forge games (LOTRK, song of nunu). Looking forward for the mmo, really love the universe and I loved the TV show too.

Ark

Vagrant Story and Parasite Eve

Played them as demos back when that was a thing and I didn't get why there's spheres popping up making battle stop (semi-turned based combat) and why there's a dude named Ashley.

Tried again a couple years later after playing FF7, connecting that they were all by squaresoft, and it all made sense. Absolutely became a couple of my favorites.

Binding of Isaac, I couldn't handle all the poop and mild horror, but eventually something clicked and now I have 1500 hours combined in both games.

Deep Rock galactic. I played it very early, didn’t feel it and refunded it. A year or so later I stumbled upon it again and bought it again. I really like it now.

Hades. I'm not really sure why it didn't grab me the first time...

Residentes Evil. The camera fixed angles were confusing and sometimes I got caught between two different angles in a small space to maneuver.

Hollow Knight and Darkest Dungeon both fit this for me. When I initially played them there would be some pain point where I got frustrated with some wall in the exploration or a tough setback (like some classic darkest dungeon bullshit like 3 spiders getting critical hits in a row killing a hero at full health). But the atmosphere of both games kept pulling me back again and again, and each time I’d get a little bit further.

Now I can say I’ve beaten Darkest Dungeon probably a half dozen times, nearly 100% Darkest Dungeon 2, and beaten every pantheon in Hollow Knight (with bindings on all but P5).

Not sure if my obvious masochism was the biggest factor in these games pulling through for me, but I can still say they are fantastic experiences for anyone willing to dig in and face the challenges they have to offer.

Trails in the Sky, the first one. I bounced off the game not once, but twice. I liked the combat, but it felt like all I was doing was quests from the guild's notice board, so I quit. But then I kept seeing TitS (heh) on various "Best of" lists, so I was like "FINE. I'll try to push through one last time". And then it clicked and I pretty much marathoned the entire trilogy.

The first game is good, buuuut I still feel like it's the weakest in the Trilogy. Story-wise, you get to the good stuff way, way later in the game. Everything that comes before is world building. And it's good, too. You get to see how the world works, how different regions of Liberl (the country you're in) operate and you also get a small glimpse of Zemurian politics (Zemuria being the name of the continent Liberl is on). This also gets vastly expanded upon in the second game.

I'm glad I tried it, because the writing is great, the music is incredible and I really dig the combat. If anyone wants to try it, definitely do. Just know that the first game is a slow burn. Worry not, though. Once the plot starts picking up steam, it doesn't stop.

Bloodborne. I gave up on 3 separate times, even after loving previous Dark Souls games. Gave it a 4th and final try, then didn’t stop until I got the platinum trophy. I don’t know that it’s my favorite souls game, but it left me the most satisfied when I finally finished it. Love that game and wish it would get the same remaster treatment that Demon Souls got.

Against the Storm. Been on steam for 15 years and it’s my third most played game now. Rimworld and CK3 are the only ones above.

World of Warcraft.

I bought it because a classmate told me about it and we planned to play together, but he had a level 60 character and didn't want to start a new one to level with me. So I played alone for the first 25 levels or so, and quit out of boredom. Then I told my brother about the game and we started again together. That lasted until about halfway through Legion (at least 10 years, with a few breaks ofc), when we both stopped playing. I've been trying to get back into it a few times since then, but it never really clicked again.